I turned down a higher salary to get more annual leave โ herE's my maths
by Kai Xin WongยทMay 24, 2026
Current job: RM7,200/month, 14 days annual leave.
New offer: RM7,800/month, 12 days annual leave.
On paper the new offer looks better by RM600/month = RM7,200/year.
But 2 days of annual leave at RM7,200/month = approximately RM660 in daily rate terms (assuming 22 working days). So I'm not really gaining anything after accounting for the leave difference โ and that's before you consider how I actually value time off vs money.
For me, leave is not interchangeable with salary because you can't buy it back. Those 2 days are real time I get to use for travel, rest, or family.
I stayed. My colleagues think I'm crazy. I think the maths is actually on my side.